Has anyone ever made a formal complaint against the Nhs?

[BabyClubYEEAAH]

i have name changed for this incase I end up sharing some personal information.

I wrote a formal complaint to the NHS last week and have still not heard anything. I was just wondering if anyone has been through this process, how long it took and did you find anything was done or was it a waste of time?

Yes through PALS. It was dealt with very quickly & effectively. Hope yours is too.

I’ve gone above Pals as they are also part of my complaint.

What does their complaints policy say about response times? It's usually something like 48 working hours to acknowledge receipt of the complaint and then it should state how soon you can expect a response.

Did you complain to a service provider or direct to the NHS?

Yes, also through PALS and I complained in person at the hospital, I received a phone call and apology before I'd even got home, but it wasn't about anything really serious that affected my health immediately, just a cock up with appointments on their part.

Yes, almost 2 years for a response, they answered about 20% of it, said they referred themselves to the Ombudsman but didn’t. So pretty crap. Sadly I was unwell and pregnant so we didn’t take further action and now we’re too late.

Well their ears must have been burning as I’ve just received an email ha!

It’s having to be split through different people unfortunately as it’s different services so I feel like this is going to be a nightmare.

Yes (and I am a nurse in the NHS albeit in a different trust). PALS were great although a bit slow to start with. The clinicians did not answer the complaint sufficiently and it was investigated as a SUI (serious untoward incident) and I am happy that policies are now in place to hopefully prevent a reoccurrence

I emailed [email protected] and got a reply via email three days later
and they advised they would speak to my practice manager at my GPs or they would speak to them on my behalf. I chose for them to speak to them on my behalf which they did and then emailed me 7 days later telling me the outcome.

I was delighted with how quickly the process had been and the outcome was to my satisfaction.

We did , it took weeks and by the time they got back to me with their findings my mother ( who’s care I was complaining about ) had died . They did recognise that the issues were justified and said that procedures would be changed but from what I’ve read / heard since about the same hospital I doubt they actually did anything .

I’ve not got my hopes up. The person I’m complaining about is essentially the head of the entire service. The mental health nurse I spoke to on the phone said I have been treated appallingly.

In my experience a complete waste of time and keeping someone in a soft job. You will get long delays, fobbed off and meaningless apologies. No one will be held to account, no account of why something went wrong. Nothing will change.
If you have a cast iron case, go to a lawyer, or you will stress yourself for nothing.
second time it happened did not dignify this system by engaging with it and will not until there is meaning full reform

I don’t know if a lawyer would be able to do much. Are you saying sue? I wouldn’t even know where to start with that or even if I would have a case!

I made a complaint just over a week ago. I got an auto reply email acknowledging it and then an email 7 days later saying it was logged, this email told me that 'We hope to provide a formal response from the Chief Executive within 3 months'.
All seems rather ridiculous to wait that long

i am in the process of formal complaint with the nhs and the hospital involved I sent an email detailing why I was complaining at midnight and by 10am the next morning I had a phone call about it and an email response apology that they are taking it seriously and investigating I also got a phone call from the senior nurse who is in charge of the unit I attended. and apology from her. I’ve taken it further up I’ve involved the ombudsman and my own solicitor also contacted the CEO and local MP I’m now waiting until I can talk to the newspaper as mine has broken the new government and nhs guidelines on miscarriage before 24 weeks of gestation it all happened 10 days ago so this is moving fast!